Is Alabama the best team you've seen play Michigan?

While trying to put Saturday into perspective, I've been trying to decide on/remember the best team that I've ever seen Michigan play. I'm not sure I've seen Michigan play a better team. The team that may have been superior was 1991 Florida State, who won 51-31 in the Big House against a Michigan team that would go to the Rose Bowl. USC was very good in '03 and '06, too, but I don't believe they were as good as Alabama or '91 FSU. I can't think of anyone else.

Have you seen Michigan play a better team? Does anyone remember the '68 Buckeyes?

Don't forget 1991 Washington, which ripped us 34-14 in the '92 Rose Bowl to cap off its national title season. We could not block their pass rush (especially Steve Emtman) at all. Tyrone Wheatley scored a late 50-yard TD to make the score slightly less embarrassing.

This was the first one that came to my mind at least defensively. Michigan's offense had no answer for Washington's defense (specifically the DL) the whole game. I would have to go back and watch to be sure, but in my memory I can't remember one drive where I really thought, now they are getting it going.

Even worse, the CB they put on him most of the day (#5 I think) did the heisman pose over him after some play. Don't remember if it was a big hit or dropped pass, I just remember the sadness and embarassment.

I think the drinking has gotten to me, because i checked the boxscore and it was bad. I dont remember that game. But, I do FSU1991. Well, parts of it. And we were a good team. Only loss we had and we beat ND back then. Best team we played, FSU is up there. I would love to see Grbac, Wheatley and Des against this Alabama team.

With the FSU loss, we at least scored 31 points. Amp Lee ran circles around our defense and overall that game made it clear we needed to recruit more speed, which we promptly started doing. But at least we were able to do something on the offensive side of the ball.

In that Citrus Bowl, Michigan couldn't do anything on offense or defense. It was basically a series of (i) go 3 & out, (ii) punt, (iii) give up long TD to Jason Witten, (iv) repeat. You left that game thinking UM was awful in every facet of the game and had really nothing to build on.

I personally see this Alabama game as being more like the FSU game than that Tennessee game. Yes, Michigan got dominated on both sides of the ball. But we did do some things well, and there is a clear path to improvement (i.e., a couple more Hokian recruiting classes). That said, I think what made both the FSU and Tennessee losses so difficult was that, while Michigan was an underdog in both games, nobody saw 20+ point blowouts coming. With this Alabama game, it really wasn't much of a surprise.

"You will suffer humiliation when the team from my area defeats the team from your area." -- The Onion

But for perspective, though, remember that in 1997 Michigan won a national title, and then we posted double-digit wins in 1998, 1999, and 2000. Getting rocked by some SEC power was not on our radar screen. Perhaps it should have been, but I never saw that Citrus Bowl coming.

We knew that 2001 team wouldn't be as good as its predecessors due to the early exits by Henson & Terrell. But even the games we had lost that year had all been very close: we lost on a couple flukely plays @ Washington, we lost to MSU on the Spartan Bob extra second play, and then we lost 26-20 to Ohio State in a game we had a chance to win despite being completely outplayed. Getting totally shellacked by Tennessee was pretty jarring.

With this Alabama game, deep down inside I knew we were toast. I didn't think it would be over by the end of the first quarter, or that we'd wind up losing by 4 TD. But it didn't come as a shock the way the Tennessee game did. To me, the difference is that this 2012 team is still rebuilding and, though we are on an up-swing, we still have a couple years to go. In 2001, that Citrus Bowl seemed to signal that we weren't just a Henson & a Terrell away from a championship team--that we had deeper problems and wouldn't be a serious title contender again until we figured out what was missing.

"You will suffer humiliation when the team from my area defeats the team from your area." -- The Onion

I always felt like the 2001 team exceeded expectations after the departure of Henson and Terrell . Looking back at the roster, the lines on both sides of the ball (DL: Rumishek, Heuer, Lazarus, Orr; OL: Pape, Goodwin, Anderson, Petruziello, Solomon) were nothling like what we had seen the previous 3 years when you had a roster riddled with veteran multi-year, NFL caliber staters (Hutchinson, Backus, Brandt, Wilson, Renes, Hall). Youth at the skill positions (other than Walker) and secondary. It's actually pretty amazing to think that this team was just one special teams disaster and an itchy trigger finger away from playing OSU undefeated in A2.

Tennessee, OTOH, was loaded (10 players drafted, 2 1st round DL!) and blew their opportunity to play Miami for the title by losing to LSU. They certainly would have given the Canes a better game than Nebraska.

M benefited from a weak schedule in '01 and when they finally faced a legit opponent they got their ass kicked.

I think the difference is that in 1991 we were a good team and still got outclassed. In 2001, with Navarre as a freshman, we were not a very good team. We would have been beaten pretty good by a number of teams that year.

'91 FSU sticks out for me too because that Michigan team talent-wise was pretty stacked. I remember being at that game and being really excited at halftime because the score margin was only 2 points or something like that. Winning the game and making a case for advancing to the number 1 ranking in the country seemed like a possibilty. Then the 2nd half started and FSU just steamrolled us.

Alabama is a great team, but them shellacking us doesn't mean a whole lot other than confirming was we all feared coming into this game, that Michigan isn't in the same league as the elite teams in college football right now.

All I remember from that FSU game was Casey Weldon seeming overrated, Keith Jackson stating "Buckley's got one!" on Buckley's early pick six of Grbac, and I also remember Desmond catching some crazy TD with a circus catch. The rest was a forgettable blur.

The thing I love most in the world has been held hostage by unacceptable people.- B. Cook<

Didn't we score 31 against that FSU team? (I recall it being 51-31, but I was 13 so my memory may be off). What made the Alabama game so depressing was the dominance on both sides of the ball...I don't think you can say the same about FSU.

Yeah, it was 51-31. They scored two defensive TDs and scored another on a fake FG. I think we were pretty close to them in terms of yardage. As I was saying above, the Washington game (in the Rose Bowl that year) was worse IMO.

Defensively, it is Alabama. But as a whole it was that 1991 FSU team. Although, they threw some gimmick plays in there. They had so much speed and we looked much slower, but we were out physicaled. Bama just looked like a NFL team and we were a good college team.

I don't agree with your assessment that FSU out physicaled us in 1991. They had speed all over the place, but our defensive line was more out-schemed than manhandled and our offensive line pushed them around pretty good that day. The power running game was on point. Against Washington, we just got swallowed on both sides of the ball.

FSU, though, was the first time I watched Michigan and thought the opponent's coach was better than ours.

across eras, but I think this team (and maybe last year's Bama squad) could compete with the best teams from any era. The athleticism of their defense (from the big men up front to the secondary) is incredible, and their big ugglies on offense are all very, very good, with a few being all-american candidates. The team may be lacking on big play ability in the passing game (when going up against guys not named Avery), but McCarron is a very solid QB who kept their offense humming. Not to mention their three headed moster at RB.

I like the comparison to the '03 USC team, a squad that was very balanced on both sides.

Yes, these guys are very, very good, and we'll see how the rest of the SEC matches up to them this year. This past weekend, IMO, showed more of how good Alabama was rather than what state our team is in (which is better than average B1G, nowhere near nationally elite).

Your father wouldn't want to hear this, Sonny. This is business, not personal.

I think this Alabama team is indeed the best one. The 1991 FSU team is probably #2. A few others some others (not mentioned yet) that might come close are 1994 Penn State, 1991 Washington, and 2001 Tennessee. SUNY-Columbus has also had a number of teams that might qualify.

"You will suffer humiliation when the team from my area defeats the team from your area." -- The Onion

man I don't know. I am not saying that the 1997 team was not a very, very good team, but Alabama means business. 97 was pre-BCS, and while Washington State was no push over (and OSU and PSU good teams as well), there was not a measuring stick that year as to just how good Michigan was as compared to the rest of the country, in particular the South. I love me some 97, but I have watched a lof of college football in my day and let's just say that 2012 Alabama would give 1997 Michigan all they could handle (or maybe more appropriately said the other way around). Bama was all kinds of fast, everywhere on the field.

I would have said no, because last year I thought Bama's offense was so-so. I still think it is not the level of USC 2006, but that defense .... woah. Those guys came in like it was Tuesday at the office, and just executed with very few mistakes. They clearly did not overlook us, and Nick Saban put a heck of a gameplan together.

To me the funny thing is the all so polite fans were taunting us with S-E-C, S-E-C, when I think they should just be shout ROLL TIDE, or ALABAMA. Most of the SEC looks good but flawed and therefore beatable with a decent game plan and execution. Alabama was impressive.

It will be interesting to see if a team like USC can keep it close, cause some mistakes and beat Alabama. But they don't have the dual threat at QB. If our offense had more game time under their belts, and Denard could connect on more of his passes / Devin could haul them in, it would have opened the game up more. Enough? Not without a similar near flawless game by our defense.

Bottom line: end of season (with the injury caveat), this game looks different and we at least feel better coming out of it. After playing a few warm ups, maybe a little better. We just weren't ready, because practicing against each other, is nothing like playing a hard hitting team at full speed. I am glad by the way that the coaching staff "blooded" some of the Freshment. They will remember that experience and draw on it down the road.

So, long story short, this is the best team, that was fully prepared, we have come up against in a long time. (I think the '69 Buckeyes did not mentally prepare like Bama did. I also think the 2006 Wolverines did not mentally prepare for USC like Bama did.)

This Alabama team executed to near perfection (Some penalties, but whatever). The rest of the SEC... ehh not so much. They might have some talent, but from watching most of the SEC games this week (it is week 1, so we'll see how it changes), they do not look to be near even Michigan's level of play.

With this experience, I have no doubt we're going to come out even stronger and possibly dominate the rest of the schedule. We've seen what it's like to play against the best, and if we can mentally raise our level, there is nobody left on the schedule to match it.

And Syracuse in 98. That was one of the worst games I ever witnessed at Michigan Stadium

"the Spirit of Michigan...is based on a deathless loyalty to Michigan and all her ways....and a conviction that nowhere is there a better university, in any way, than this Michigan of ours" - Fielding Yost

That was the one game that I kept thinking of. It seemed like Washington just dominiated Michigan on both sides of the ball. Howard could do nothing, and the d-line seemed to be in the backfield all game. Washington won a share of the national title that year.

I remember that game well because we got absolutely smoked -- at the Big House, no less. It was another game that felt "over" before most people had even found their seats.

As it turned out, we had a pretty good season in '91, FSU notwithstanding. That's why I'm not yet particularly worried about Team 133. Now, if AFA gives us trouble (if it's even all that "close" regardless of the scoreboard) then I might feel a bit more uncomfortable than I do right now.

That 1998 Syracuse team went 8-4, I believe. They matched up well against Michigan during our Jim Hermann-doesn't-worry-about-mobile-QBs phase and caught us during our national championship hangover, but I don't think they merit consideration as one of our greatest all-time opponents.

"You will suffer humiliation when the team from my area defeats the team from your area." -- The Onion

I was at the Big House as a flabbergasted UM undergrad. They beat us good at home, and we were a quality team. Terrell Buckley INT returned for an early pick 6 set the tone for this game.

Some interesting tidbits about this game:

(1) We played HOME against Florida St. We never traveled to Tallahassee to reciprocate, at least to my knowledge. This was a bygone era of being able to draw big-time non-conference opponents without having to play at a neutral site or sign up for a home & home series. Strange.

(2) WHY, CANHAM/SCHEMBECHLER/WEIDENBACH (don't know what AD of this era scheduled the game!) DID YOU SCHEDULE THIS GAME AGAINST A VASTLY SUPERIOR TEAM?

I may correct myself to say 'Bama '12 >> FSU '91...we'll see how the season shakes out. Washington '91 was also a phenomenal opponent on both sides of the ball.

Was trying to prove themselves as a national power. (People forget not that long before it was a woman's college). And Bowden wisely took the method of playing anyone, anytime, anyplace, because he knew his conference sucked. So they'd go to places beat them, grab some sod for their "graveyard" to take back with them, and show they were for real.

Michigan used to play multiple big-time non-conference opponents every couple of years. For example, in '88 they played at ND and then played Miami (FL) at home the next week. The 1991 schedule included not only ND and FSU but also a game at Boston College.

"the Spirit of Michigan...is based on a deathless loyalty to Michigan and all her ways....and a conviction that nowhere is there a better university, in any way, than this Michigan of ours" - Fielding Yost

Plus, we had a remote but possible chance of winning against FSU late in the game. Michigan was down 44-31 and driving for a TD when Grbac threw a pick 6. Now, dont get me wrong, we had to get the TD and then an onside kick and another TD all within a few minutes. But there was a chance. I didnt feel like we even had a chance against Alabama sometime fairly early in the game.

We were outclassed, but we could hang with them offensively. We just couldn't do anything with them defensively. They were clearly the better team, and they had to be good because that was a pretty good Michigan team, but I wouldn't rank that FSU team as one of the all time greats. They were only the second best team we played that year. (Though that Washington squad was the biggest mash-up of steroid heads and convicts we may have ever played).

At the top, I have to put the 1975-76 Oklahoma team that we played in the Orange Bowl. We were ranked #4 and OK was #2 at 10-1. Their defense was the best I have seen to this day. The Alabama team has more offensive weapons than did Oklahoma, but overall toughness goes to the old guys.

As a point of perspective, Michigan had 33 yards passing while Oklahoma had 66. Rick Leach was 2-16 passing and his two completions were for 17 and 16 yards. Apparently our passing philosophy hasn't changed in 40 years - chuck it up!

The Oklahoma Boomer Sooner chants were no where near as annoying as Roll Tide however.

“I hope that someday we will be able to put away our fears and prejudices and just laugh at people.”